Fan



W. H. KEWIFTON AND O. F. ROWE.

FAN.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. so, 1918.

1L 5%(35561 Patented 001;. 3, 1922.,

INVENTORS Wi/larc/ H l'aempfon Orv/I5 f7 Ham/e ATTORNEY Patented @let. 3, WEE.

wrnnann n. nniarron' ann onvrs r. news, or wrnnrnsnune, irnnrn'sritvanra assrenons T0 wns'rmenousn ntnornro a ivranurnerunrno COMPANY, a can:

PORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

FAN.

Application filed December 30, 1918. Serial No. 38,825.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that we, WILLARD H. .Kmvrr- TON, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Wilkinsburg, in the county of for the fan blades and the hub in which the blades are secured.

A copending application of C. W. John,

rurthermore, such blades oder but little air resistance and may be readily colored to present a neat, ornamental and attractive appearance.

The primary object of our present invention is to provide a fan structure comprising blades of the character disclosed in the above-referred-to application together with a hub of a novel and improved type which will co-operate with the blades to enhance the value and efiiciency of the fan as a whole.

Another object which we have in view is the provision of a fan structure of such' character as to materially decrease the cost of labor for assemblage and at the'same time avoid substantially all likelihood of defects, through faulty worlnnanship.

Our invention also contemplates a fan of increased eiiiciency by constructing both the supportin hub, or spider, and the blades of materials having substantially the same period of vibration and of materials having a period of vibration far lower than those of metals previously employed for correspondmg fan parts.

With these and other objects in view, our lnvention will be more fully described, illustrated 1n the drawings, in the several v ews of which corresponding numerals in-- dicate like parts, and then particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a multiple-blade fan-blank formed in accordance with our invention; Fig. 2 is a sectional view of one of the blades taken on the line lb -H of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a front elevation of a complete fan embodying our invention; Fig. i is a sectional view of a portion or the fan taken on the line lV-lV of 1g. 3; F ig. 5 is a front elevation of a slightly modified embodiment of our invention and Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a port1on of the tan shown in Fig. 5, the section being taken upon the line VlVl thereof.

in practicing our invention, we may form a multiple-blade fan-blank from superimposed layers of fibrous sheet material, impregnated with a suitable binder which may be permanently hardened, such as a phenolic condensation product. A suitable bushing may be passed through the spider or hub portion of the blank, which serves to connect the blade portions, and a hub proper, consisting of a suitable molding composition, such as any desirable, finely divided, or comminuted filler, impregnated with a phenolic condensation product, may be formed about the central or web portion of the blank. The entire fan may then be cured in any suitable manner, such as by subjecting it to the action of heat and pressure in a mold.

On the other hand, our invention may be followed b providing a plurality of separate bladelanks, of the same or equivalent material as the multiple blade-blanks, imbedding the inner ends of the blanks, together with a suitable bushing, in a hub of moldable composition, of the character previously specified, and then curing or molding the thus assembled fan by the application of heat and pressure or by any other means which may be suitable or indicated by the nature of the binder employed.

Referrin jino'r'e; directly the drawings, Fig. 1 disc osesa multiple-bladed fan-blank comprising a pluralityofblades 1 and a common -web orhub-portion 2 formedin tegrally' with andconnectin the blades. This blank as best indicate and 4 of the'drawings, comprises a plurality of su rimp'osed layers of fibrous sheet materia 3 impre nated-witha binder, of proper character, w ich maypreferably be 1n an inactive state but-which is ca-' gable of being rendered active and hardened y suitable curing means. To assemble such a blank, we mayimpregnatea fibrous sheet material, such as paper, cloth, cotton batting or other fabricated sheets, with'a binder of the desired character, such as a phenolic condensation product in solution, and we may then dry the sheets to such an extent as to drive ofi all or substantially all of the solvent withoutaflt'ecting the moldable properties of the binder.

sheets of the proper shape and size an superimpose them upon each other to form superlmpose a"'p1urality of the treated sheets and stamp assembled blanks there from. In any event, the assembled blank, of

the form'shown in Fig. 1 having a bearing or bushing receiving openingf4, is provided and a tubularbearlng or bushing 5, which may plreferably be of steel, is passed throug the opening 4, afterwhich a suitable molding composition is positioned against opposite sides of the web portion 2 -of the blank and about. all but one end of the bushing to provide material for the for-- Imation of a substantially ellipsoidal shaped With the fan-forming elements this assembled, the entire structure may befinished or cured in any preferred manner.

For example, if the sheets are impregnated with a phenolic condensation product and the hub-forming material comprises a suit- .able comminuted filler, such as wood flour,

asbestos or the like, impregnated with a corresponding binder, the entire structure may be positioned in a mold of suitable character and there subjected to theapplication of heat and pressure to properly shape, compact and solidify the parts.

Preferably, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the hub 6, of moldable composition, may be of such dimensions as to not only fully cover the Web ortion of the fan used From the dry sheets thus treated, we maystamp out -or otherwise remove I blank-formin It will, of course, be obvious that this stamping of a multiple-blade fan-blank, 'as asingle art, together with the simultaneous mol mg of 1t, and a hub and its enclosed bushing, theretoi removes the ne'cessity for substantially al' steps of assembly, such as are now required, and eliminates the chief opportunities for the appearance" I fof defects, occasioned by faulty workmanship be noted that both the material constituting the blades and that constituting the hub have substantially the same period of vibration, which is an extremely low one, as comfans as now constructed, due to diiferent' periods of vibration of em loyed, are eliminated.

t should be noted that inasmuch as the entire fan, with the exception'of its bushing,

the various parts In addition to these advantages, it should is formed of material impervious to mois- 'ture, weak acids and oils, it may be employed for industrial purposes where fans, as now constructed, would be very short lived.

In Figs. 5 and 6, we have shown a modi-' fied embodiment of our invention in which the blade-blanks 7 may be formed in the same manner as the multiple-blade fanblanks 1, the sole difference being that each blade comprises a separate blank free of all connection with the other blades. The blades thus formed have their inner ends imbedded in the hub, 8 about a bearing sleeve or bushing 9, in the same manner in which the web portion of the blank shown in Fig. 1 is secured, and the fan body, thus assembled, is cured in any suitable manner, such as that previously described.

It will be clear that the finished'products resulting from these methods of manufacture are substantially identical and that the properties and advantages possessed by one are also inherent in the others. Inasmuch, however, as it is clearly possible to employ any one of several slightly modified methods of manufacture, it will be appreciated that our invention is not to be limited in scope, in any wa ex- We claim as our invention: a

slightly modified minuted filler and a hardened binder and blade-blank but also to e disposed, to athe blades comprismg superimposed layerscertain extent, between the several blades of the blank so that there is no possibility of loosening of the blank, relative to the hub, or of separatin the front and rear portions of the hub rom each other.

of fibrous sheet material and a corresponding binder.

v 2. A- fan or blower comprisin blades formed of superimposed layers 0 fibrous sheet material, impregnated with a'phenolic condensation product and a hub, formed of a comminuted filler impregnated with a phenolic condensation product, imbedding portions of the blades, the materials of the hub and blades being hardened and compaeted by heat and pressure.

3. A fan or blower comprising a multiplebladed blank of superimposed layers of fibrous material impregnated with a binder, a bushing disposed through the central portion of the blank and a hub molded about the bushing and enclosing the central portion of the blank. p

A. A fan or blower comprising a multiple.- bladed blank of fibrous sheet material impregnated with a phenolic condensation prod not, a bushing disposed through the central portion of the blank, and a hub of comminuted material impregnated with a phenolic condensation product enclosing thebushing and adjacent portions of the blank, the blank and hub being consolidated and hardened by the application of heat and pressure. v

5. A fan or blower comprisin a molded hub and a plurality of molde blades of ifikbrgous material partially imbedded in the 6. A fan or blower comprising a plurality of blades of superimposed fibrous sheet material impregnated with a phenolic condensation product, a bushing in proximity to the inner ends of the blades and a hub of comminuted material and a phenolic condensation product as a binder imbedding the bushing and adjacent portions of the blades. both the hub and blades being hardened by heat and pressure.

7. A method of forming a fan or blower which comprises forming a multiple-bladed fan-blank of superimposed layers of fibrous sheet material impregnated with a binder, mounting a bushing centrally of the blank, disposing moldable material about the bushing and against opposite faces of the blank and subjecting the body thus assembled to heat and pressure to cure the blank and molding mixture and shape the latter to provide a hub.

8. A method of forming a fan or blower which comprises forming a plurality of separate fan-blade blanks of fibrous sheet material impregnated with a phenolic condensation product, imbedding the corresponding ends of the blanks and a bushing in a body of moldable material with the blanks radiating from the bushing and subjecting the moldable material and blades to heat and pressure to cure the blades and consolidate the moldable material to provide a hub anchoring the blades in proper position relative to the bushing.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto subscribed our names this 21st day of Dec., 191%.

WILLARD H. KEMPTQN. ORVIS F. ROWE. 

